The Papua Presidium Council was established at the Second Papuan Peoples Congress in November of 2000. The Council was elected to lead the non-violent struggle for the rights of over one million indigenous West Papuans who, for over forty years, have been living under the repressive policies of the Indonesian government and suffering grave human rights abuses at the hands of the Indonesian military.

This is a critical time for the indigenous peoples of West Papua. The Indonesian government is increasing the number of troops there, and the military has ties to Muslim extremist groups that terrorized East Timor during and after their vote for independence from Indonesia. These same groups have transferred thousands of people to West Papua.

Land is Life is working to encourage and promote dialogue between indigenous West Papuans and the government and military of Indonesia. We actively seek support for dialogue from other Pacific Island Nations, and encourage United Nations member states to bring up the issue within the United Nations. By promoting high-level dialogue we hope that the kind of violence that was seen in East Timor can be avoided, and real steps toward peace can begin.

Since 2004, Land is Life has provided small grants to regional human rights defenders in West Papua, provided travel expenses for UN meetings, and responded to human rights abuses by mobilizing international concern, filing human rights complaints with the United Nations and disseminating information to UN Special Rapporteurs, NGO’s and others. We have also arranged dialogue between West Papuan indigenous representatives and representatives of the government of Indonesia.